1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to identifier-sharing methods for wireless communication devices and wireless communication devices and base stations using the same methods.
2. Related Art
Machine to Machine (M2M) communications (also called machine-type-communication, abbreviated as MTC) is a very distinct capability that enables the implementation of the “Internet of things”. It is defined as information exchange between a subscriber station (or a wireless communication device) and a server in the core network (through a base station) or just between subscriber stations, which may be carried out without any human interaction. Several industry reports have scoped out huge potential for this market. Given the huge potential, some broadband wireless access systems, such as 3GPP LTE and IEEE 802.16m, have started to develop enhancements for enabling M2M communications.
M2M communications allow both wireless communication devices and wired communication devices to communicate with other devices of the same ability. M2M communications can use a device (such as a sensor or a meter) to capture an event (such as temperature, inventory level, etc.), which is relayed through a network (wireless, wired or hybrid) to an application server (M2M server), that translates the captured event into meaningful information (for example, items need to be restocked) to the subscriber user. FIG. 1 illustrates an overall M2M communication network architecture. Referring to FIG. 1, an M2M communication network can include a plurality of wireless communication devices of M2M applications (referred as M2M devices) 101, 102, 103, . . . , 10n, a communication network 120, at least an M2M server 130, and at least an M2M subscriber 140. The M2M devices 101, 102, 103, . . . , 10n are connected to the M2M server 130 through the communication network 120 (which can be a wireless communication network, a wired network or a hybrid of wireless and wired communication network). The M2M subscriber 140 is connected to the M2M server 130, and obtain information from the M2M server 130 through API, where the information is transmitted from M2M devices 101, 102, 103, . . . , 10n to the M2M server 130.
In recent years, the expansion of wireless communication networks across the world has made it far easier for M2M communications to take place and has lessened the amount of power and time necessary for information to be communicated between M2M machines. These communication networks also allow an array of new business opportunities and connections between consumers and producers in terms of the products being sold. Recent pilot projects reveal that M2M communication is also gaining traction in a number of new vertical sectors such as: health care, where M2M allows remote patient monitoring; and in logistics, where M2M improves package tracking and the distribution of goods from a central distribution centre.
With the growth of High speed wireless M2M applications, such as video surveillance, remote information display, and in-vehicle camera systems, utilizing high speed cellular technologies, such as WiMAX and 3GPP LTE system, becomes inevitable parts of M2M solutions. However, neither WiMAX nor LTE system provides enough addressing space for identifying a huge number of M2M devices. Here, the addressing space refers to the amount of available device identifiers which can be assigned all communication devices in a communication network.
Simply increasing the addressing space is not feasible since the original non-M2M devices may not be able to function well. Therefore, it is a major concern to develop a new addressing scheme utilizing the original addressing space to accommodate a huge number of devices including both M2M device and non-M2M devices.